WHATEVER the size of your business and whichever sector you operate in, to be successful you need to identify any areas where you are underperforming and make improvements.

Developing the skills of people working in your business is an important way of doing this - new skills can improve your productivity, competitiveness and profitability.

Comparing the skills you have with the skills you need to achieve your business goals is an important step towards improving your performance.

Training can help to improve skills in the short-term and help to build staff loyalty and dedication, increasing the emphasis on work-life balance and motivation.

We know that the day-to-day pressures of running and managing a business often mean it is difficult to find the time to step back and analyse staff training needs.

However, as staff are an incredibly important resource for almost every business, it is vital to encourage their development.

To help North-East businesses take control of the future success of their company, we can work with them to establish how to improve areas of workforce development by providing access to information and the right help on everything from leadership development to motivation and recruitment.

The Business Link website enables you to access key information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But if you would like to discuss your training needs with one of our team, we are always at the end of the phone.

Businesses can also sign up for email alerts to ensure they remain a step ahead and fully informed about training developments.

With a team of trained skills brokers, we can help you to identify training specialists that suit the needs of your business.

Whether you know what you want, or need to identify staff development opportunities, Business Link can direct you to effective services that make a real difference to your company.

* Business Link's team of expert brokers operate across the region in local access points and on a mobile basis. For details about the Business Link service visit www.businesslinknortheast.co.uk or call 0845-600-9006.